;3 T - ¿ r
Latipas Need More Educational Opportunities
m R ai i Y zaglirkf
As America's youth return to school,
it’s too bad they w on’t all have a fair
shake.
A recent report com piled by my
organization, the national Council o f
La Raza discovered serious inequali­
ties in the U.S. educational system.
In our travels around the country
we have seen schools that work well,
and those that don’t. Schools that work
well demonstrate a deep commitment
to the belief that all children can leam.
In these schools, teachers are com m it­
ted, parents are involved and school
officials hold themselves accountable
for achieving positive results. Not sur­
prisingly, Latino children in such
schools, by every measurable stan­
dard, are learning and achieving.
One often finds such schools in
unusual places. In the Calexico U ni­
fied School District along the Califor­
nia-M exico border, 98 percent o f kin­
dergartners enter school knowing little
or no English. By fourth grade, nearly
all are in English-language classrooms.
Nearly 80 percent o f the district’s stu­
dents go on to college, 20 percent to
four-year institutions - all this in the
country with the lowest per-capita in­
com e in the state o f California.
But, to our dismay, we have also
seen far too many under-financed,
overcrowded schools in which Latino
children do not have access to current
materials, computers, or even basic
school supplies; schools with teachers
w ho are unprepared or apathetic;
schools in w hich Latino parents are
deterred and even excluded from par­
ticipating in their children's educa­
tion. W e have seen school officials
who, despite protestations to the con­
trary, apparently believe that Latino
students are doomed to failure. In these
schools, not surprisingly, Latino chil­
dren are not learning. Their teachers
hold them back at high rates. They
have lower test scores and higher drop­
out rates.
Successful schools like those in
Calexico provide irre fu table proof that
Latino children can meet the highest
educational standards. They dem on­
strate that schools with sufficient re­
sources and commitment can success­
fully educate students who com e from
disadvantaged backgrounds and ar­
rive speaking littleorno English. Most
importantly, they show that the crisis
in Latino education is occurring not
because Latino students are failing in
school, but because the schools are
failing these students.
Currently, about three in 101 .atinos
live below the poverty level Even
more dram atically, two in five Latino
children are growing up poor. Latinos
have a higher poverty rate than black
or white Americans. W hile many other
factors are involved, the single most
important predictor o f econom ic op­
portunity and poverty’ status in this
society is educational attainment.
By and large, the education system
gets an “ F ” in ed u catin g L atino
children.Denial o f full educational op­
portunity begins atayoung age. Latinos
are the least likely o f all children to be
included in early education programs.
Less than 20 percent o f Latino 3 - and
4-year olds are enrolled in preschool
programs.
A t the elem entary and m iddle-
school levels, Latino children are es­
pecially likely to score poorly on im­
portant achievement tests, particularly
in reading and math.
B y h ig h sc h o o l, 15 to 17-year-
o ld L a tin o s are th e m o st lik e ly o f
all stu d en ts to be b elo w grade level
an d th e le a st lik e ly to g rad u a te
from h ig h sc h o o l an d e n te r c o l­
lege.
L atin o s are a lso h a lf as lik ely
as th e ir n o n -H isp a n ic w h ite p ee rs
to re c e iv e a b a c h e lo r’s d eg re e,
an d less th an o n e -th ird as lik ely to
earn an ad v a n c e d d eg ree. O n ce
L a tin o s d ro p b ac k , th ey are lik ely
to fall fu rth e r an d fu rth e r b eh in d .
T h e re is no ed u c a tio n a l ‘sa fe ty
n e t” in place.
O v e r th e n ex t se v e ra l d ec ad e s,
L a tin o s w ill c o n stitu te m ore than
4 0 p e rc e n t o f new en tra n ts in to
th e la b o r f o rc e . A s th e b a b y
b o o m e rs re tire , the h ea lth o f th e
so c ia l S ecu rity an d M e d ica re s y s­
tem - n o t to m e n tio n ev e ry o th e r
g o v e rn m e n t se rv ic e from d efe n se
an d law e n fo rc e m e n t to h ig h w ay s
an d n a tio n a l p ark s - in c re asin g ly
w ill d ep e n d on the tax c o n trib u ­
tio n s o f L a tin o s ra is e d in o u r
sc h o o l system .
W e shouldn’t leave our country’s
economic future to chance. We need a
purposeful approach to education - and
opportunities for children o f every race,
ethnic and economic background.
Raul Y zaguirre is president of the
N ational Council of La Raza, the
n a tio n 's larg est L atino advocacy
group.
Ipipigraptcs Corç Belitos
Pernjaijeceraq Ep Cárceles
La ú ltim a p arte de la refo rm a en
in m ig ració n será efe ctiv a de ahora
en ad e la n te y todo in m ig ran te que
c o m e ta a lg ú n d e lito g r a v e se
c o n s id e r a r á q u e lo d e b e n d e
d e p o r ta r h a s ta q u e c u m p la su
se n ten cia en los E stad o s U nidos, la
ley de 1996 fin alm en te en trará en
vigor.
E sta ley o b lig ará al IN S que
e n c a rc e le a to d o s aq u e llo s que
tien en d elito s graves y q ue afectará
a todos aq u ello s q ue son resid en tes
legales y tam b ién a personas sin
docum entos.
El IN S le h a s u p lic a d o al
C o n g reso qu e les den dos años m ás
de grac ia p ara que p u ed an d ep o rtar
a m uchos crim in ale s que no son
v io len to s ni que po san un pelig ro
para la co m u n id ad , claram en te esta
ley im pose en n o so tro s un gran
d ile m a y a q u e n o s q u ita la
fle x ib ilid a d de d ic id ir q u ie n se
en carcela y q uien puede salir libre
bajo fianza, dijo un vocero del INS.
Y añadió que sufren de poco espacio
en las cárceles y que esta nueva ley
les p o sa un gran dilem a.
El com m itté en inm igración bajo
la d irecció n del R epublicano Sr.
L a m a r S m ith -S a n A n to n io p o r
m ed io de un v ocero acu sa a la
a g e n c ia d e l IN S d e f a lta de
r e s p o n s a b ili d a d y g a n a s d e
im p lem en tar la ley.
RICHARD LUCCETTI (CENTER), A REPRESENTATIVE OF HISPANIC PARENTS ASSOCIATION IS
JOINED WITH RON HERNDON (AT RIGHT) OF BLACK UNITED FRONT. BOTH PARTIES ALONG WITH
CMAC HELD A PRESS CONFERENCE TO REVIEW STANDARDS WHICH MEASURE STUDENT
ACHIEVEMENT THROUGHOUT THE PORTLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS.)_______________
$30,000 US West Grapt Helps
Miracle Build BRIDGES
It’s been said that “all the w o rld ’s
a stage,” so naturally, a good place to
w ork on im proving our w orld is un­
der the footlight’s glare. T h at’s why
Portland’s M iracle T heatre Group
will use a $30,000 grant from the US
W E S T F o u n d a tio n to ta k e its
B R ID G E S program on the road.
T hrough BR ID G E S, M iracle T he­
atre boosts H ispanic participation in
the arts w hile prom oting cultural tol­
erance in com m unities all over the
Northwest.
BRID G ES is an artist-in-residence
program that team s professional ac­
tors w ith youths from rural com m u­
nities that have lim ited or no perfor­
m ance arts venues. BR ID G ES par-
ticipants spend tow to three days
getting arts training, rehearsals and
finally, a chance to perform . Social
events, such as pre-show picnics,
provide further opportunities for di­
verse sectors o f the com m unity to
interact and build greater tolerance.
The result? “The process o f put­
ting on a perform ance - w orking to­
gether tow ard a com m on goal - gives
people from different cu ltu res a
chance to leam about each other,’’
notes T eatro M ilagro’s A rtistic Di­
rector, D anielle Malan. “O ur pro­
gram fosters tolerance. It also lets us
build confidence and instills cultural
pride in at-risk and m inority youth.”
B R ID G ES debuted in 1997 with
pilot program s in four rural towns.
The program w as so successful in
raising com m unity involvem ent and
cultural appreciation, M iracle de­
cided to expand it. “T he US W EST
Foundation has provided m ore than
a third o f the m oney we need to
double the num ber o f com m unities
w e’ll visit and reach hundreds more
participants over the com ing year,
says José E duardo G onzález, co ­
founder and Executive A rtistic D i­
rector for the M iracle Theatre Group.
Beginning in the fall, M iracle will
bring BRID G ES to five states served
by US W E ST ’S local telephone ser­
vice: Oregon, W ashington, Idaho,
Utah and M ontana.
Ipvolucraipicpto Be Los Padres
Ep Las Escuelas Publicas
Porque es muy importante
La continua participación de los pa­
dres en la educación formal de sus hijos
se ve, en la actualidad, como la base de
los esfuerzos por reformar el sistema
escolar. Esta opinión fue expresada por
el Presidente Clinton en su presentación
sobre el estado actual del país en 1994.
R e su ltad o s cu an d o los padres
participan en la educación
Nosotros en las escuelas, al ver miles
de casos, hemos podido determinar que
la participación de los padres en la
educación de sus hijos, afecta a los ñiños
p o sitiv a m e n te , m as esfu e rz o s
académicos, actitud ositiva respecto a la
escuela, co m portam iento positivo
cuando tienen padres que se preocupan,
alientan y se involucran en la educación
formal
i
Tengo que ir a la escuela para estar
involucrado?
No hay definición precisa cuando
hablamos de la involucracion de los
padres nin tampoco significa que hay
que estar en la escuela para hacerlo. El
padre involucrado puede estar en casa,
fijándose que los ñiños hagan sus tareas,
controlar el tiempo enfrente del televi­
sor, dorm ir lo suficiente, llegar a la escuela
a tiempo y una cantidad de oportunidades
que nosotros como padres debemos de
guiar a los ñiños a crecer con cuerpo
sano y mente sana también debemos de
estar en comunicación con la escuela y
los maestros
El personal de las escuelas y los
padres necesitan trabajar juntos.
Los padres que conocen a los mae­
stros de sus hijos, apagan el televisor,
ayudan a sus hijos con sus tareas, los
educan sobre lo correcto y lo incorrecto,
son los padres que si hacen una diferencia
L a E d u c ació n no es muy
im p o rtan te p ara los p adres Hispanos
El mito de que nosotros los latin o s
preferimos el trabajo a la educación es
solo eso “un m ito" que a pesar del
involucramiento de muchos padres
seguirá siendo la norma de muchas
personas ya que es muy difícil borrar
sus creencias que han sidoel pensamient
de
m a e stro s,
ed u c a d o re s,
administradores y del publico en gen­
eral, nunca yo he visto, a un padre
Hispano que diga, “ojala que mi lujo
deje la escuela para que se meta a
trabajar" al contrano, el sacrificio que
muchos padres hacen para que los ñiños
se gradúen es tremendo
Piense: Su hijo es inteligente,
saludable y encabeza la lista
para ir a la universidad. Le
encanta la trayectoria que su
c a rre ra ha to m a d o . Está
haciendo muchas de las cosas
que planeó y hasta otras que no había planeado. Vivir
la vida en plenitud es fácil cuando tiene una familia que
lo respalda American Family Insurance. Llame ahora
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